An established program builder that has captured championship gold at each of his coaching stops is bringing that pedigree of success to Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Brian Middleton has been selected as the seventh leader of the tradition-rich Northeast women’s basketball team in its modern era, which dates back to 1973.
“We are excited to announce the hiring of coach Brian Middleton,” said Northeast president Dr. Ricky Ford. “A proud resident of our district, coach Middleton brings a proven and successful track record. We look forward to his leadership and vision as we continue to build back a winning program.”
Middleton arrives on the Booneville campus at a great time. The Lady Tigers are coming off their winningest two-year period in 18 seasons with 37 total victories and a top four finish inside the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC).
“We are excited to have coach Middleton join our coaching staff,” Northeast athletic director Kent Farris said. “He brings with him an impressive record of success wherever he has coached. We look forward to supporting him and Lady Tiger basketball.”
Middleton boasts 17 combined years of head coaching experience between the sports of boys basketball, girls basketball and volleyball at Oak Hill Academy and Tishomingo County High School.
“I’m thrilled to be part of this family at Northeast,” said Middleton. “When we moved up here nine years ago, we fell in love with north Mississippi. I got to know a lot about Northeast and the tradition of the program here. I’m just excited to be a part of that.
“We want to play a brand of basketball that’s exciting and fun to watch. We want to get after it on the defensive end. We’re looking forward to having a full gym this fall.”
Middleton originally started his professional career as the boys coach at Oak Hill in 2008. He led both basketball programs at his alma mater from 2014-16 after the departure of longtime girls instructor Stan Hughey.
The Lady Raiders made history in just their second season under Middleton. Oak Hill rallied back from a 12-point third quarter deficit to defeat Carroll Academy in the title game of the 2016 Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AA State Tournament.
Junior Tanner Grubbs had 15 points and 18 big rebounds in the Lady Raiders’ come-from-behind victory. She was named to the All-MAIS team while senior Sarah Dill earned MAIS Class AA Player of the Year honors.
It was Oak Hill’s first-ever girls basketball state championship. However, Middleton would go on to pull off the same feat some eight years later at Tishomingo County.
Middleton inherited a program that won just four contests during the previous campaign and that had made only two trips to the Mississippi Coliseum to play in the state tournament in its 24 years of existence.
He departs Tishomingo County after securing five consecutive division titles and six straight 20-plus win seasons. The Lady Braves also doubled their number of appearances inside the Big House with Middleton at the helm.
Tishomingo County has lost no more than four games and advanced to at least the state quarterfinals in each of the last five years. The Lady Braves amassed a cumulative record of 143-16 during that impressive stretch.
The West Point native reached the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A championship contest for the first time in 2022, but lost to Choctaw Central High School. Middleton and his Lady Braves were not denied in their second opportunity.
Tishomingo County returned to Jackson in 2024 and dominated Morton High School by a score of 37-17 to bring home its inaugural state title. Reese Moore had a team-best 14 points to obtain the BSN Sports Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
The Lady Braves went 27-2 overall last winter, which was their fewest losses in a single season under Middleton. Freshman phenom Meg Moore averaged 22 points and 6.5 rebounds to receive the prestigious MHSAA Class 4A Miss Basketball accolade.
Middleton also directed Tishomingo County’s volleyball program as well. The Lady Braves have claimed back-to-back division championships and progressed to the state quarterfinals one year ago.
His boys teams at Oak Hill were not bad either. He was recognized as The Commercial Dispatch‘s Small Schools Coach of the Year after guiding the Raiders to a 23-12 ledger and a berth to their initial MAIS Class AA North State runner-up result.
Middleton was chosen to coach in the 2024 Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) North/South All-Star Game and the 2025 Northeast Mississippi Basketball Coaches Association (NEMBCA) All-Star Game.
“I’ve got relationships with a lot of players and coaches in this area and hopefully we’re going to tap into those,” Middleton said. “There’s great basketball talent up here. We want to give those ladies an opportunity to excel at this level on the court. That’s something we believe we can get done here.”
Middleton holds a Master’s degree from Grand Canyon (Ariz.) University and a Bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University. He and his wife Becky have two children, Luke and Baylon, who was a member of Tishomingo County’s state championship team.
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